Question

Describe why those living on less than $2 a day are more vunerable to risk than those who make more money

Answer 1

Across developed countries a significant proportion of the population lives on less than $1 or $2 a day. The poor spend a significant proportion of their income on food, may lack access to basic services and may possess a limited amount of productive assets. We do, however, make purchasing decisions that include spending on items other than food and use a range of methods to handle volatile revenue streams. Television and radio control, and access to electricity and sanitation differ widely.

At the one hand, people in Sub-Saharan Africa are much worse off than people in affluent areas of the world, and much more likely to die prematurely. At the other hand, those who live past the age of 5 have high chances of surviving up to age 60 or so; saving a life only from a single cause of death means saving a person who is expected to live a long time longer. Children under 5 in low-income countries mainly die of preventable and treatable diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea, perinatal conditions, measles and HIV / AIDS. The major causes of death in low-income countries (relative to higher-income countries) between the ages of 5 and 60 are HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis and maternal mortality